Jaguar

UK, 1945 to date

Jaguars Cars Ltd, Coventry, Warwickshire, 1945 to date

Though the name Jaguar was applied to certain models of SS as early as 1936, it only became a make-name from 1945. From 1945 to 1948 the Jaguar cars were really the 1940 SS models with hypoid back axles. These Jaguar cars were made in 1.8-litre, 4-cylinder and 2.7-litre and 3½-litre, 6-cylinder forms with beam axles, push-rod-operated overhead valves, 4-speed synchromesh gearboxes and mechanical brakes. Like their predecessors SS, the Jaguar cars combined a high standard of elegance and performance at a modest price. The 4-cylinder engines in the Jaguar cars were still made by Standard, but all post-war sixes were of Jaguar manufacture. Only sixes Jaguar cars were made from 1949 onward and the new push-rod Jaguar Mk Vs acquired independent front suspension and hydraulic brakes. In addition there was the Jaguar XK120, a revolutionary new sports two-seater with a 3.4-litre twin ohc 6-cylinder engine developing 160bhp, and modern aerodunamic styling. A production Jaguar prototype was timed at 132,6mph and standard versions could reach 120mph, all for £1.263 – though very few Jaguar cars were sold in England, only about 9 per cent of more than 12.000 of the Jaguar car model made up to 1954. The push-rod engines were dropped in 1951, in which year the big Jaguar Mk VII saloon with the twin-cam engine made its appearance, combining American standards of roominess with British appointments and handling. A Jaguar Mk VII won the 1956 Monte Carlo Rally; this Jaguar car model inaugurated a Jaguar dominance in big saloon-car racing that lasted until 1963, and more than 30.000 Jaguar cars were made before it was replaced by the improved Jaguar Mk VIII in 1957. It was available with automatic transmission in 1953 and with overdrive a year later, these two transmission options always being listed on subsequent touring Jaguar cars.

The Jaguar company’s official entry into racing was in 1950 – the idea behind this had been described as ‘the fastest scheduled service over the Sarthe Circuit’. Consequently Jaguar never won the Sports Car Constructors’ Championship, though Jaguar cars won at Le Mans five times – in 1951, 1953 (the year of the disc-braked Jaguar C-types), 1955, 1956 and 1957, in which last event five of the unitary-construction Jaguar D-types started and five finished, in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 6th places. The Jaguar cars were also a force to be reckoned with in almost every branch of motoring competition, among their greater achievements being two TT wins (1950 and 1951), victory in the Sebring 12-Hour race (1955) and Ian Appleyard’s Alpine Gold Cup (1953) for three successive unpenalized runs in his Jaguar XK120 in the Alpine Rally.

Racing experience was also applied to the Jaguar touring cars and full unitary construction appeared in 1956 on the 2.4-litre, first of the compact twin-ohc saloons powered by a 112bhp short-stroke edition of the basic unit. In 1957, the 3.4-litre unit, now giving the Jaguar car over 200bhp, was installed in the same hull, furnishing the Jaguar car company with yet another best-seller which helped them recover from a disastrous fire at the Jaguar car-factory early that year. Disc brakes were standard on the sports-racing ‘Jaguar D’ in 1954, but were also made available on Jaguar sports and touring cars in 1958. The 1959 line offered three engine sizes: 2.4-litre, 3.4-litre and 3.8-litre, with outputs up to 250bhp in the Jaguar XK150 sports model, while the big Jaguar Mk IX had power-assisted steering and the 3.8-litre unit as standard. In 1961 the Jaguar E-type appeared with a 265bhp 3.8-litre engine, all-round independent suspension, and disc brakes all round (Jaguar never fitted them on the front wheels only, offering a reliable 150mph for less than £2.100. Independent rear suspension and unitary construction found their way onto the big cars with the advent of Jaguar Mk X in 1962. In 1964 there was the Jaguar S-type (in 3.4-litre and 3.8-litre versions), also with independent rear suspension, bridging the gap between the compact Jaguar Mk II and the Jaguar Mk X. 

In the meantime the Jaguar concern had expanded. Daimler was acquired in 1960, followed by Guy, since 1925 a truck manufacturer only, and the proprietary-engine firms of Coventry-Climax and Meadows. A redesigned version of the Jaguar car engine with a capacity of 4.2-litres was fitted to 1965 versions of the Jaguar E-type and Jaguar Mk X and at the same time all Jaguar car models save the Mk II received a 4-speed all-synchromesh gearbox; this was extended to the 1966 Jaguar Mk II range. Another improvement was the Marles Varamatic variable-rate power-assisted steering on the new Jaguar Mk X. During the year a 2+2 version of the Jaguar E-type became available, this marking the reintroduction of an automatic gearbox option on a sports Jaguar cars, discontinued with the last Jaguar XK150s in 1960. The Jaguar 420 saloon of 1967 filled a gap in the range. It was an improved Jaguar S-type with Mk X appointments and a 245bhp 4.2-litre engine. In the meantime the Jaguar car company merged with the British Motor Corporation to form British Motor Holdings, and in 1968 Jaguar became part of the British Leyland Group. A simplified version of the 2.4-litre saloon, the Jaguar 240, was available at a low £1.390, and the Jaguar E-type was altered to conform to the new US Federal regulations, at the cost of a drop in output to 245bhp. New for 1969 was the Jaguar XJ6, a new saloon with three-box unitary construction, servo-assisted disc brakes, rack-and-pinion steering, and the usual Jaguar car options; the Jaguar car was offered with a choice of two 6-cylinder engines, the 4.2-litre and a new 2.8-litre, and helped the Jaguar  car company to set a new production record of 32.000 Jaguar cars in 1970.

Meanwhile experiments of Jaguar cars with a rear-engined prototype 502bhp four ohc V12 sports racer in 1965 bore fruit on 1971’s new Jaguar cars, the Series 3 E-type; this Jaguar car could be had with a 272bhp dohc 12-cylinder engine and transistorized ignition as an alternative to the well-tried six. Power-assisted steering was a factory option, and this Jaguar car sold for £3.123. This and the Jaguar XJ were now the sole Jaguar cars, but during 1972 the V12 became available in a new version of this Jaguar car; this was sold only with automatic transmission.

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcar; MCS

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